


A Time For Good Will

by Marian_De_Haan



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Episode: s01e03 Cygnus Alpha, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marian_De_Haan/pseuds/Marian_De_Haan
Summary: Avon and Jenna have a decision to make.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	A Time For Good Will

**Author's Note:**

> Published in The Avon Club Newsletter #73. Reproduced here on the author's behalf and with the author's permission.

Agitatedly, Avon emptied the sack on the console. Jewels cascaded down in blinding glitter. 

"Do you know how much is in there?" he asked Jenna. Not waiting for her answer he continued: "Millions! MILLIONS! And this is just a sample." His eyes shone with greed. "There must be almost as much wealth in that single room as there is in the entire Federation banking system. Look at it!"

Jenna did, avidly. "You could buy a lot of freedom with this." 

"You could buy anything with this," he amended. "Anything at all. Think of it, Jenna: there isn't anything you couldn't have." 

True. Jenna could see one snag, though. "What about Blake?" 

Avon's voice became harsh. "What about him?" 

Her gaze switched from the jewels to his face. "No." 

"We could own our own planet," Avon pointed out. 

Jenna thought of the man who had boarded the abandoned space craft with them, and was currently down on the planet they were orbiting to free the prisoners there and find himself a crew. 

"We're not leaving him there." 

"We have to." The normally cold, cynical computer expert was now pleading passionately. "He's a crusader. He'll look upon all this as just one more weapon to use against the Federation. And he can't win. You know he can't win!" 

He cast his gaze upon her, brown eyes burning into hers. "What do you want to be, rich or dead?" 

Jenna knew he was right. Blake would not allow them to use Liberator's wealth for their own designs. But to leave him on the penal planet Cygnus Alpha among the prisoners he had gone to free... 

Picking up a piece of jewellery, Avon added: "We may never have this opportunity again." 

Jenna wavered. She did not owe Blake anything. And a girl had to look after herself. "All right. Let's get out of here." 

* * *

Quickly, before she could change her mind, she strode to the flight deck. Avon came after her. 

"Where to?" Jenna asked him, sitting down at the main pilot's position. 

Avon shrugged. "What do you suggest?" 

Jenna weighed the options. "Overon. It is fairly civilised, independent from the Federation and a long way from here." 

"Seems a good choice," Avon agreed. 

Jenna told Zen to lay in the course. They felt the huge craft turn as it pulled away from Cygnus Alpha. 

Avon looked round the flight deck, hardly daring to believe his luck. Only a short while ago he'd seemed destined to toil his life away in hardship on a penal colony. Now he was free, with unlimited wealth, a spaceship of superb technology and a beautiful and sensible woman for partner. 

Elated, Jenna observed: "Imagine what we could stow in these holds. And with Liberator's speed there's no customs ship could stop us." 

Avon raised his eyebrows. "A bit of smuggling? Sounds like a good idea." 

"Free trade," she corrected him. "You are willing to go along with it?" 

He smiled. "Why not? Just sitting brooding on my treasure could become boring."

Jenna laughed. She had not felt so happy for a long time. When she'd been arrested it had seemed that her future would hold nothing but misery, and look at her now! But what about Blake? A voice in her mind protested. She silenced it decisively. 

Avon had wandered over to a small computer. Standing before it, he began to play with the keyboard. 

"What are you doing?" Immediately suspicious, Jenna came to stand beside him. When he did not answer, she asked: "What is that?" 

"It seems to be a chronology computer." 

"A what?" 

"Chronology, the computing of time. This machine can tell you what calendar all the different races in the galaxy keep, and give you the dating system of every civilisation, past and present. You want to know the date on Overon, or what festive days they keep on Epinal? Just enter the question." 

He rapped a command on the keyboard. The resulting answer made him chuckle. 

"Care to share the joke?" Jenna asked coldly. 

"According to the old Earth calendar, today is the 25th of December. Christmas Day." 

"Christmas?" 

"An ancient feast, rooted in religion. A time for peace and goodwill." 

"Well," Jenna remarked idly. "It seems a suitable day to start my new life." 

But what about BLAKE? the voice in her head nagged on. 

Avon shut down the small computer. "I'm going back to my study of the teleport." 

* * *

When he'd left, Jenna went back to her position. But she could not concentrate on the instruments on her console. Blake's face kept appearing before her mind's eye. He had trusted them, had trusted HER and now she had abandoned him. She could imagine him, calling them on his teleport bracelet, waiting for them to respond with growing desperation until at last it would dawn on him that they had absconded. Jenna knew his face would haunt her for the rest of her days.

In the teleport section Avon also found himself struggling with his conscience. An irritating fact, as he liked to pretend to not being burdened with such a liability. Abandoning Blake had been the sensible option. Not a deed to be proud of, but simply something that had to be done in order to survive. What chance of survival would they have, drawn into Blake's futile fight against the Federation's tyranny? None! Therefore, there was no argument. 

Still, Avon found himself disturbed by the memory of Blake's steady gaze, that last time they'd faced each other, and his calm statement: "No, I don't think you would leave me." Blake had been a fool to trust him. 

"Zen, abandon course for Overon," Jenna instructed the computer. "Set course for Cygnus Alpha. Warn me when we're in teleport range."

When the machine confirmed her orders, she let her head hang in a mixture of relief and apprehension. To face Avon's wrath was not a prospect to look forward to. Yet she knew she had to get back for Blake. Leaving him to rot on that penal planet was not a deed she could live with. 

She should tell Avon about their course change. He would be furious, could even become violent. Well, she was not afraid of him. Jenna was a skilled fighter; a pampered intellectual like Avon would be no match for her. Still, there was no point in confronting him yet. She had more urgent business to attend to first. With decisive steps she left the flight deck. 

Avon felt the ship change course. He raised his eyebrows, smiling thinly. So, Jenna could not face abandoning Blake after all. 

What now? He could override her order. He could incapacitate or even kill her and take Liberator back to freedom. Or, he thought — knowing with a sinking feeling that this was going to be his choice - he could let her get on with it. Retrieve Blake and whatever criminals on Cygnus Alpha he had found willing to join his fight. Cynically, Avon surmised that he would be able to guess the names of those few idiots quite correctly. Stealthily, he exited the teleport section. 

In the strong room, Jenna selected the most precious jewels she could find and put them in a large bag she'd taken from a heap lying in a comer of the room. 

"It seems we got the same idea," came a sardonic voice from behind her. 

Startled, she turned round. Avon stood leaning in the doorway, watching her coldly. 

Jenna had never lacked courage. Ready to defend herself if the need arose, she said firmly: "We're going back for Blake, Avon. I cannot face deserting him." 

"Regrettably!" 

Her gaze challenged him. "What are you going to do?" 

He stepped into the room. "The same as you. Grab and hide as much of the loot as I can before we bring him back aboard." 

Jenna frowned distrustfully. "You're not going to try and stop me then?" 

"What choice do I have?" His voice sounded bitter. "The only way to stop you would be to kill you. As this craft obviously needs a pilot, that is not an option." 

It was a lie. The computers could fly the ship. But Avon saw to his relief that Jenna accepted his explanation. Good! He did not want her to know that he could not face abandoning Blake either - or killing Jenna. Angry at his own weakness, he took a bag from the heap and began to fill it with jewels and gold. 

Jenna watched him, still suspicious. "You take this calmer than I'd expected." 

He shrugged. "Must be the Christmas spirit - a time for goodwill."


End file.
